Nationals players excited for Players Weekend

WASHINGTON -- Nationals players will have the opportunity to inject a bit of their personality and style when Major League Baseball and the Players Association introduce their inaugural Players Weekend event from Aug. 25-27.

WASHINGTON -- Nationals players will have the opportunity to inject a bit of their personality and style when Major League Baseball and the Players Association introduce their inaugural Players Weekend event from Aug. 25-27.

For the weekend, players will be able to add a little flavor into their traditional baseball uniform, including custom jerseys featuring their nickname on the back. Trea Turner will go with the name "Triple T", which stands for "Triples Trea," a nickname given to him by Jayson Werth after Turner kept hitting triples after he was promoted to the Majors last season.

Sean Doolittle wanted as many O's that will fit on the back of his jersey, so he will wear the nickname "DOOOOOOOO."

Max Scherzer is going with the nickname "Blue Eye" as a nod to his right eye, which is a different color than his left eye, which is brown. Bryce Harper will don the nickname "Big Kid."

The weekend comes with a focus on youth baseball and will begin in earnest when the Pirates and Cardinals wear the custom uniforms at Bowman Field on Aug. 20 for MLB's Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., during the 2017 Little League World Series.

"I think sports in general are moving that way," Turner said. "I think if the players are trying to market themselves in the sense they want to wear cool cleats or cool shoes and this and that, that brings attention to baseball. It brings attention to the sport and that gets kids excited.

"I think organizations and sports are starting to realize that, and they're letting us have some fun with it. I think it's just the start of a lot more."

Players also have the opportunity to wear uniquely colored and designed spikes, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher's masks and bats. Players will wear specially designed caps by New Era and unique socks from Stance.

During pregame workouts or postgame interviews, players can wear a T-shirt highlighting a charity or cause of their choice.

"I think it's cool; I think any time we can show a little bit of personality I think it's good," Doolittle said. "It kind of gives the fans a little bit of insight into the players and kind of gives them something different to enjoy. I think it'll be fun."

During the game, each player will also wear a special patch on his sleeve, depicting the progression of a child evolving into a Major Leaguer. In a white space under that logo, each player will mark the name of a person they are grateful for as they continue to progress in their career.

Doolittle named his brother, who was his unofficial pitching coach when he converted from a hitter into a pitcher as a Minor Leaguer in Oakland. Turner named his parents for the sacrifices they took to get him to games as a kid. Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton -- who will wear his nickname "Lobi" on the back of his jersey -- named his parents, wife and kids.

"My parents, they kind of pushed me to stay here," Lobaton said. "And my wife and my kids, they're always cheering for me no matter what. I feel like it's more special for my kids. They're young, my son is four years old, my daughter is a little older, but they don't know what's going on.

"So every time after the game they're happy no matter what. I feel like that's pretty cool. They don't know what's going on in the game but they're still happy to see me."

Game-worn jerseys will be auctioned at MLB.com/auctions, and all proceeds will be donated to the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, a joint effort established in July 2015 by MLB and the MLBPA with an initial commitment of $30 million focused on improving the caliber, effectiveness and availability of amateur baseball and softball programs across the U.S. and Canada.

Here's a list of nicknames that some Nationals are expected to sport on the back of their jerseys on Players Weekend: